Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-14
THE SINISTER LAWYER.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CLASS WHO
DISGRACE THE PROFESSION.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CLASS WHO
| DISGRACE THE PROFESSION.
The Code OF Ethics Among Lawyers.
Blackmailers Of the Corporations-Di-
vorce Proceedings and How Conducted
by the Shyster-Other Tricks.
There is a code of ethics among lawyers,
though never a lawyer appeared in ro-
nance or drama who ever appeared to have
any ethics beyond sect case fairly if you
can, anyhow if you must" The code Of eth
les is, in brief, that one must not drum up
cases, that cases must come to the lawyer, or
rather be sent to him by his friends or clients
The poor devil of lawyer who never gets a
clients to talk up his merits, and hasn't a
friend who would refer case to him, sticks
to ethics as long as possible, but ethics don't
feed him or clothe him. The big guns hold
I'll the practice worth having, and the p. d.
get his pay in thanks, or mayhap in curses
because he lost a case which he had not funds
enough to properly prepare. He throws eth
les overheard in disgust eventually, and when
he does so, when he sails out on the sea Of life
as kind Of privateer and captures cases, he
is denominated shyster. He joins then the
grand army Of disreputables, and is among,
but not of them; for the shyster, pure and
simple, is generally legal confidence man,
preying upon his clients, while instigating
them to prey upon Others.
The shyster's name is legion. He works
quietly and rakes in his fees religiously. He
is debarred from association with reputable
lawyers, but he makes money, and generally,
in addition to his irregular law business, he
conducts a money lending business at the
usual usurious rates of interest. There is al
ways one good feature about the shyster, and
that is he subscribes for the daily paper; but
even this is not good, inasmuch as the means
do not justify the end any more than the end
| justifieS the means.
SUSCEPTIBLE TOOL.
The shyster gets his sustenance from the
unfortunate whom he forces into proceedings
for damages. He becomes In the practice of
his peculiar branch Of business blackmailer
Of the corporations of the city and Of the
clients themselves TO such an extent has the
righteousness of these irregular damage prac-
titioners gone that reputable lawyer hest
tates nowadays, before going into court to sue
| for damages from fear that he will be classed
as one of these bloodsuckers and legal harpies.
Once shyster gets damage case his pro-
caedings are mixture of subordination Of
perjury and blackmail. He turns up wit
nesses to testify to state Of facts to give
color and form to claim, and this being done,
| he negotiates with the party or parties sued
| for a settlement with him as representative
| of his client. If the settlement is effected he
obtains the lions share of the money, and the
client is told that that share is his fee for the
herculean endeavors in his behalf.
In civorce proceedings, too, the shyster
| shines with no dim luminosity. Through his
Vaccinations trivial disputes between man
and wife are magnifed into grounds for
divorce, through him the detestable system of
| espionage upon men and women has grown
| up and disreputable detective testimony is
| used to breed suspicion, distrust and open
| hatred that homes may be broken up and fees
| roll into his pocket. Through the shyster in
fuence the number Of grounds for divorce in
the statutes is increased steadily, and at
tempts to reduce them for the good Of social
morals and the maintenance of recognizable
relationship are defeated through the power
he brings to bear upon legislatures, if he does
not happen to be elected as law maker him.
self. On the law of libel, too, the sbyster il
strong, and to the end that he may bleed the
newspapers he reads them every day, and no
mans name appears therein who is not liable
to call from representative of some shy
ster to inform him that he has grounds for
action for libel.
ROUNDING DOWN CORPORATIONS.
The Mark NEEDLES exist in great numbers
and their efforts to obtain cases are more
daspicable if not as ludicrous as those Of the
little man who would fain be kicked by the
dramatis persona in "London Assurance"
The shyster reads the columns of the news
papers for the reports of accidents to in
dividuals, reports of arrests. of differences
between man and wife appearing in the
lower courts. One attorney has prepared a
printed circular which he sends out to such
persons as may be injured in accidents
throughout the city.
Another circular recently issued by law
yer who makes speciality of entrapping peo-
pile into divorce proceedings. 1t happened to
be addressed to person who hadn't taken the
preliminary step toward divorce proceedings
that is, he had not as yet got married,
though he expected to be in short time. He
thought it practical joke until he learned
that the circular was sent out in all serious
ness, though in this particular instance there
had been a mistake in addressing the ELL
velope The circular was so arranged that a
blank was left for the word sir or madam.
1t is not often lawyers such as those alluded
to intrust these matters to the mails, though
of late such practice has become more com.
mon than formerly. Usually the shyster has
drummers out, fellows that seem to work for
nothing more than lush money, who call on
the persons who it is suspected would listen
to their advances. The drummer is generally
hummer, and the wonder is that be succeeds
as well as he does.
All the little tricks of the shyster's trade
could not be exposed in a newspaper article
The law is disgraced by men dubbed attor-
neys, who through influence Of some kind OF
another suddenly cease practice as BARRIERS or
thinkers or saloon keepers or cooks. and take
the cases of people into courts, sacrificing their
unfortunate clients to increase their bank &C
counts. The shyster Of the criminal courts,
it so fortunately happens, is a valuable ad-
junct to the administration Of justice in con-
victing the men he tries to acquit, but his
general characteristics and practices are those
Of swindlers and bunco steerers.-Globe
Democrat.
A Cure for Corns Wanted.
ANY man who wants to make quick ard
certain fortune" observed q Broadway drug
gist the other day, "can do it by inventing